(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
© Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Global demand for employee surveillance technology has increased during the pandemic. This is causing concern in Switzerland, not least because the country's legal system is not set up to deal with it.
This content was published on January 26, 2021 - 12:00 January 26, 2021 - 12:00 Sara Ibrahim
Writes about the impact of new technologies on society: are we aware of the revolution in progress and its consequences? Hobby: free thinking. Habit: asking too many questions.
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Working from home will be one of the long-lasting global side-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has been enabled by a structural change in the way we work due to the ongoing digitisation of the workplace.
The encounter between digital transformation and the world of work has all the ingredients to be a story which ends well. It is not only the productivity and satisfaction of workers that stands to gain, but also the climate. Teleworking for half a week could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 54 million tonnes each yearExternal link .
How widespread is teleworking?
According to a global survey conducted by the consultancy firm GartnerExternal link , as of March 2020, as many as 88% of companies have encouraged or made teleworking mandatory in order to respond to health emergencies while ensuring staff uptime and continuity of services.
In Switzerland, a survey by Deloitte SuisseExternal link showed that, in the first few months of 2020, around half of the population worked from home and were no less productive. In the third quarter, this figure fell slightlyExternal link , but the trend remains important and is expected to continue in 2021. Some estimatesExternal link predict that 25-30% of employees worldwide will continue to work from home several days a week in the new year.
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But that progress has come at the price of workers' privacy. A study from TOP10VPNExternal link , which analyses and reviews VPN services worldwide, found that global demand for surveillance software has increased by 51% since the start of the health crisis. In April alone, this figure stood at 87%, well above pre-pandemic levels.
Surveillance at work is also on the rise in Switzerland. Although there is a lack of precise statistics on the activities of private companies, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) has confirmed that the phenomenon is growing in scale and is under observation. "During the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of reports concerning breaches of privacy at work. We are aware of the problem and have opened an investigation into one company. Unfortunately, we cannot reveal any more details," Hugo Wyler, Head of Communication at the FDPIC, told SWI swissinfo.ch.
A surveyExternal link of 213 senior Swiss HR managers conducted between June and September 2020 by the Research Institute for Work and Employment at the University of St Gallen found that investments in People Analytics solutions systems are conscious investments, independent of the pandemic. The survey also highlighted that those who invested in these technologies before the crisis will continue to do so after, and that investments in performance analytics solutions increased by 10% since 2018.
"Without a well-defined legal framework, nothing is illegal, and society will continue to adapt to technology, and not vice versa.'
Jean-Henry Morin, University of Geneva
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Surveillance software is capable of performing a wide range of operations to monitor any activity on an employee's computer, from recording typed words to monitoring the screen, internet searches and e-mails. Some software even includes camera surveillance, geolocation, audio recording and mobile phone access. The most popular programmes, including Hubstaff, Time Doctor and FlexiSPY, offer most of these functions.
© Gaetan Bally/Keystone
Microsoft recently launched a software called Productivity Score, which in its first version could track the activities of individual employees. The programme raised concerns about privacy violations, forcing Microsoft to rectify the situation and withdraw some of the more privacy-intrusive features that allowed employers to access employee data and monitor the use of Microsoft 365 services and apps on an individual level. Microsoft is the world's largest software provider by revenue and its desktop operating systems have more than 75% of the global market share, largely in business settings.
In a note published on the internetExternal link , Jared Spataro, vice president of Microsoft 365, said that the company, in addition to removing users' names from the product, was 'changing the user interface to make it clearer that Productivity Score measures enterprise-wide technology adoption, not individual user behaviour'. Would Microsoft have intervened on such a significant issue - such as protecting user privacy - even if its solution had not caused a stir? Microsoft Switzerland did not respond to questions by SWI swissinfo.ch.
It is nevertheless important to distinguish between the surveillance of the behaviour of individuals, which is prohibited by Swiss data protection law, and the collection of information to verify the contractual duties of employees.
'The employer does not have the right to monitor the employee during, for example, his lunch break, but he can investigate what he does during working hours, without trespassing on the surveillance of individual behaviour", Wyler explains. Companies are still obliged to inform employees in a transparent manner about the data analysed.
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